FLASH
Shkruar nga Sara Panarella
The destruction of nature and cultural heritage in the country are linked by the same logic of power. But Albania cannot be a blank canvas where a painter can draw as he pleases...
Albania is going through a period of great social unrest. More than a month of daily protests have highlighted a difficult situation. Started as a reaction to the protection of the Zvërnec protected area, the Pishë Poro–Nartë natural park – a nesting area for pink flamingos (chosen as a symbol of these protests) – they have now transformed into a broader demand for fairer politics, as well as for the protection of the country’s culture and history.
Regarding these developments, I spoke with Julia Lela, a young Albanian diaspora living in the Piedmont region of Italy. She spoke to me about a population that has reached the limits of patience. The spark that ignited the protests in late May was the violence exerted by private security guards against protesters on Dalan beach, the only access road to the protected area of Pishë Poro–Nartë, a coastal area that shelters nesting sites for sea turtles, but also for other protected species.
The investors of this project are Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the former president of the United States, together with her husband Jared Kushner. The project is gigantic (with about 10 thousand beds) and, to enable its realization, the legal rules for protected areas had to be relaxed.
Amendments voted in 2024 allow for the development of large-scale tourist infrastructure within these territories and weaken environmental protection mechanisms.
The project was first introduced in 2024, sparking fierce reactions. Now protests have resumed, partly because, at the end of May, barbed wire fences and excavators appeared on neighboring beaches.
Several MEPs, who later also participated in the protests, conducted an inspection in Zvërnec, within the Pishë Poro–Nartë lagoon area, at the end of June, finding visible environmental damage and possible violations of the European Union's Birds and Habitats directives.
However, the political history surrounding the necessary permits has opened a Pandora's Box. First, it was necessary to weaken the law on the protection of protected areas. Furthermore, a series of investigations conducted by SPAK (the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, established in 2019 with the support of the European Union as a pillar of Albania's EU accession process) have also raised concerns about possible elements of corruption in this situation.
Nëse aspektit natyror dhe çështjes së korrupsionit i shtojmë faktin se projekti vjen nga investitorë shumë të pasur të huaj dhe synon një kategori të pasurish të tjerë, kuptohet fare mirë pse “Revolucioni i Flamingove” po vazhdon prej më shumë se një muaji, duke bashkuar të rinj e të moshuar, burra e gra, deri në pikën që janë organizuar edhe kënde kujdesi për fëmijët e familjeve që duan të marrin pjesë në protesta.
Julia përmbledh kërkesat e lëvizjes, ku në radhë të parë kërkohet dorëheqja e menjëhershme e kryeministrit Edi Rama dhe e të gjithë parlamentit aktual. Kjo do të mundësonte që kreu i qeverisë të përballej me drejtësinë për akuzat e ndryshme që rëndojnë mbi të dhe që aktualisht janë pezull për shkak të imunitetit parlamentar.
Rama akuzohet nga protestuesit për ngritjen dhe drejtimin e një sistemi klientelist dhe të korruptuar, i cili, sipas tyre, ka depërtuar në çdo sektor të jetës politike dhe ekonomike të vendit. Më tej, lëvizja kërkon krijimin e një qeverie teknike tranzitore, e cila do të funksiononte nën kontrollin dhe mbështetjen e ngushtë të Bashkimit Evropian.
Detyrat kryesore të kësaj qeverie do të ishin shfuqizimi i ligjit 21/2024 për “Investimet Strategjike” dhe i ligjit 20/2025 për “Paketën e Maleve”, rishikimi i ligjit për financimin e partive politike, si dhe ndryshimi i Kodit Zgjedhor duke vendosur procedura të rrepta kontrolli antikorrupsion për çdo kandidat.
Gjithashtu, kërkohet me ngulm kufizimi me kushtetutë i mandatit të kryeministrit në maksimum dy mandate, duke qenë se aktualisht Edi Rama ndodhet në mandatin e tij të katërt. Së fundmi, synohet mbrojtja e plotë e territorit dhe e kulturës së Shqipërisë, të cilat, sipas aktivistëve, po u kalohen investitorëve të huaj nën pretekstin e modernizimit dhe zhvillimit ekonomik.
Për ta arritur këtë, qytetarët kërkojnë shfuqizimin e menjëhershëm të amendamenteve të fundit në ligjin për zonat e mbrojtura, anulimin e ndryshimeve të bëra në ligjin për trashëgiminë kulturore, shpërbërjen e paketës ligjore për malet, si dhe shfuqizimin e plotë të statusit dhe kuadrit ligjor që favorizon investimet strategjike në dëm të pasurive publike.
Protestat që vazhdojnë të organizohen janë përgjithësisht paqësore, megjithëse ka pasur disa përplasje. Sipas Julias, përgjegjësia për këto ngjarje bie mbi qeverinë, e cila, sipas saj, ka infiltruar elementë provokues në sheshe për të diskredituar protestuesit, veçanërisht në sytë e Bashkimit Evropian.
“Revolucioni i Flamingove” po i kalon kufijtë kombëtarë, falë edhe angazhimit të shqiptarëve të diasporës. Shumë manifestime janë organizuar në qytete si Parisi, Berlini dhe Milano. Edhe Torino po përpiqet të organizohet.
According to Julia, Rama, who is also attacking the protests through social media, is particularly afraid of the diaspora population. This is not so much because of its numbers, but because of the possibility that the issue will spread across borders, transforming from a domestic problem into a European issue - vital both for the protection of nature and people, as well as for the identity of a country that has long since embarked on the journey towards membership in the European Union.
The call for help was clear and the European Union has begun to respond. On 17 June, a resolution was voted expressing deep concern about the landscape interventions carried out in the Poro–Nartë Pine Forest, urging the Albanian authorities to repeal the amendments to the law on protected areas, as well as to immediately suspend all new permits, construction and development interventions in other protected areas of the country.
What is now threatening the destruction of a protected area of exceptional environmental value has a precursor in another episode involving a building of great cultural and symbolic value. The National Theater in Tirana collapsed at 4:30 a.m. on May 17, 2020. The building, which represented an important part of the country's cultural history, was demolished in a hurry; a tall tower is planned to be built in its place. At the time, actors, artists, and intellectuals confronted the authorities and opposed the destruction, an event that left many citizens stunned and helpless.
Many other neighborhoods have suffered a similar fate: they have been razed to make way for the new and modern, often unexpectedly and without any real dialogue with the citizens. In a recent article in Domusweb, Albanian artist Adrian Paci comments on this destruction by referring to “the relationship between power and aesthetics; specifically an idea of beauty that takes shape in a series of grandiose works, but destined to be imposed on the city by the will of the strong man.”
In this sense, the use of famous architects is a frequent and effective solution from a media point of view. Thus, the government takes on the appearance of a painter standing in front of a blank canvas, feeling free to project his vision onto it. However, the territory is not a blank canvas, but a weave of histories, memories, needs and desires.
"This logic lacks consideration of the social structure of the country, its experiences, its contradictions, its heritage of memories and values. The citizen returns to the role of a spectator who passively follows the show and is forced to live under the dictatorship of a 'beauty' imposed from above," he further emphasizes.
Julia speaks with concern, but also with determination, about this situation, where behind the slogan of modernization, according to her, lies a brutal sale of Albania's history and resources. A dynamic that has already been seen many times.
Shqiperia u shkaterrua!!! Vone u kujtuan shqiptaret dhe gazetaret te harxhojne boje e leter Rama vazhdon jep leje per kulla . Mos u lodhni. Ajo nuk eshte me Shqiperia e ruajtur me gjak e pune nder shekuj . Ajo eshte RAMA LAND e ta gezoje derisa populli ...